Last September's devastating floods left Colorado with a mountain of problems, but so far fraud isn't one of them.

A check of federal, state and local prosecutors, as well as regulatory agencies and the Better Business Bureau, this week turned up no disaster-related fraud cases, a sharp contrast to prevalent fraud related to natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Unlike New Jersey and New Orleans, Colorado hasn't sensed a need to set up special task forces or investigation units to ferret out those who cheat victims or relief programs.

Unremarkable fraud is an amazing feat, given the amount of money that's changed hands.

The federal government has sent more than $284 million to the state, FEMA reported two weeks ago. State and local governments pitched in another $62 million, the agency reported.

It's not a lucky happenstance, according to representatives of state and local flood agencies.

Colorado has benefited from the lessons learned from other states to help steer victims away from charlatans.

"Some of the things we did here at DORA was a result of contacting those other states," said Cory Everett, spokeswoman for Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.

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In the wake of the floods, DORA heavily promoted it s online database of licensed contractors
. The agency's inspectors provided 267 free damage assessments and recommended appropriate repairs to help victims avoid being duped by unscrupulous contractors.

Other agencies and organizations did the same.

Through the end of February, the Colorado Bar Association offered the help of 284 lawyers who volunteered their services in 619 flood-related cases.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also spent nearly $2.7 million on case managers who worked one-on-one with victims.

One of the most common scams after natural disasters is phony charities, according to the Colorado Attorney General's Office.

Immediately after last fall's flood, just as he did after the state's most recent wildfires, Gov. John Hickenlooper promoted the HelpColoradoNow.org website, which steered donors to dozens of credible charities. At the same time, Secretary of State Scott Gessler publicized his office's online registry of charities.

The lag time of days or weeks after the floods before people could begin work on their homes in the hardest-hit areas gave prosecutors, government agencies and nonprofits, such as the Better Business Bureau, time to reach potential victims with information on avoiding scams, said Carolyn Tyler, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office.

Tyler said the office's consumer protection division received only two complaints, both about expensive hotel prices for people dislodged by the floods. Colorado, however, does not have price-gouging laws that might make that illegal.

"We would like to believe we either did a good job of getting the word out to the crooks that we take fraud very seriously," she said, "or we did a good job of connecting with the public on how not to be taken advantage of."